The Edmonton Oilers power play in trouble, but a solution awaits
The Edmonton Oilers are finally starting to get things back on track, but the power play surprisingly remains an underlying issue.
So far, the Edmonton Oilers have only tallied 9 power play goals through 22 regular season games.
The St. Louis Blues and the New York Islanders haven't faired much better, trailing the Oilers with just 8 power play goals on the season.
As it stands, the Oilers PP ranks 26th in the NHL, which is hard to believe considering their historic numbers just a few seasons ago.
With the power play a clear point that's hurting the team, perhaps the Oilers should look to make a change to include one of their new offensive weapons on the first unit.
To keep things simple, the Edmonton Oilers aren't shooting the puck nearly enough. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been in the hot-seat as of late, with criticism focused on his lack of shot attempts.
To make matters worse, Edmonton Oilers Jason Gregor recently revealed on X (formally known as twitter) that Evan Bouchard is currently on pace to break the NHL record for shot attempts blocked.
The combination of Nugent-Hopkins lack of shot attempts and Bouchard's shot attempts blocked, it's created an offensive disaster for the Edmonton Oilers.
With that being said, a potential solution could be on the horizon for the Edmonton Oilers power play woes.
New forward Jeff Skinner has been having a terrible start to the season, but he has plenty of experience on the power play, and is a proven scorer in the NHL.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been struggling to start the year, so perhaps he could be moved off the top unit.
Convince RNH to shoot. If he doesn't, they will have to look at giving Jeff Skinner a try in his spot. Ideally, they'd want a right shot there, so they'd have a one-timer option on both sides of the ice, but RNH has played there the past five years, and they've been the best PP in the NHL. So a right shot would be a luxury, not a necessity.
-Jason Gregor, Oilers Nation
POLL |
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